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San Juan Capistrano

The California Constitution exists to protect the citizens from government. The fundamental rights contained in the Constitution are a guarantee that cannot be violated by the government.

John Perry, Board Member Capistrano Taxpayers Association

Each government official when, elected or appointed, is required to swear to protect and defend the constitution to the best of their ability. When officials pass laws that infringe on constitutional issues, the people have the right to challenge those actions in court and to have a Judge determine if their rights have been violated.

In the case of Capistrano Taxpayers Association vs. City of San Juan Capistrano, the issue was if the city violated the provisions of the California Constitution by imposing a tiered water rate schedule that is not based upon actual costs on its residents and by forcing residents to subsidize recycled water. The city actions were declared unconstitutional by Superior Court Judge Munoz on August 28, 2013.The case is not a simple municipal issue; it is about whether the City Council violated the constitutional rights of its residents when it imposed a new water rate schedule in February 2010. According to Judge Munoz, it did. The question now is how the City Council will react to the judge’s decision. So far, three members of the city council have voted to appeal the Superior Court’s decision in the 4th District Appellate Court in hopes the case will be overturned. They also decided to continue to bill the illegal water rates while the appeal process plays out over the next 18 months.

This course of action is financially risky for the city. If the appeal fails, the city will be liable for all of the illegal water charges paid by residents under protest during the appeal period. The three members of the council are also spending taxpayer money on legal firms to support the appeal process. The question is whether the city has sufficient revenue to repay all of the water users for illegal rates that may go back to February 2010.

This lawsuit was not filed for the benefit of the CTA; it gets no financial benefit from the suit except for recovering its court costs and filing costs. The suit was initiated because the city refused to listen to warnings that the February 2010 water rate structure was illegal under Proposition 218. Under advice from the city attorney, the council proceeded to adopt the schedule; increasing the rates by 49% and forcing consumers to subsidize recycled water users.

The remaining city councilman that voted for the illegal water rates is Sam Allevato who was on the city council in 2010 and vocally supported the action as necessary and fair. Sam is now facing a recall for his continued support of billing the illegal water rates during the appeal and for his failure to seek a less expensive source of water instead of producing local water at greater cost to the consumers.

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The CCS is a non-partisan community watchdog publication distributed to homes and businesses in the city of San Juan Capistrano.

The CCS was established in San Juan Capistrano in 2009 by a group of residents who recognized that our money was often spent in ways that enriched a select few, while residents were left with the resulting increases to cost of living, traffic and debt.

We believe knowledge is power. Aided by Public Records Act requests for information and extensive research, we print fact-based information about these and other issues which enables residents to make educated decisions about local leadership. We do the homework – you decide!

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Capistrano City Hall Compensation

With high unemployment levels and with our City's debt at over $100 million, reigning in City costs is more important than ever. In a recent CCS article, we published a detailed list of City Hall compensation and benefit expenses by position and employee. You can view the details yourself and decide whether you think this is a good use of scarce taxpayer dollars.